Shocking details of 200 to 500 per cent cost inflation in the purchase of medical supplies and equipment for the Delhi Government hospitals have come to light in the FIR registered by Delhi’s anti-corruption branch in the Rs 600-crore Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) procurement scam.The FIR (a copy has been accessed by The Tribune) shows 230 per cent inflation of bills in buying portable X-ray machine; 200 per cent in bed sheets, 340 per cent in C-Arm radiological equipment and 500 per cent in Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS).Two persons, Dr Vinod Ranga, former Head of Office for the Central Procurement Agency (CPA) at the DGHS in the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) and Rajiv Rangila, supplier/liaisoner, have been named by the investigating agency in the scam, beside DGHS officers.Ranga was arrested by the Delhi’s Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) on ThursdayThe complaint made at the instance of the Vigilance Department, Delhi, mentioned that the group promoted cartelisation, connived with government officers, manipulated government tenders and siphoned off government money to the tune of several hundred crores, amounting to nearly Rs 600 crore.It is alleged that Rangila created fake companies with fake owners, namely F Med Devices, Technocrats, Raj Shree, Ashi Surgical and Pharmaceuticals, M Sahib and Sons Pvt Ltd, which were declared authorised distributors by the pre-decided manufacturer company.“After this, the tender document and skewed restrictive specifications were prepared by Rangila in connivance with the manufacturer company and supplied to Ranga who gives it to tender committee. The specifications and tender document were being forcibly approved by tender committee using threats of action against them, if they resist signing them,” the FIR said.Once the tenders were uploaded on e-procurement/GeM, Rangila’s fake firms bid and the eligibility criteria were set abnormally high to deter others. Despite lacking turnover or experience, his firms qualify; all others are disqualified without reason. Technical sheets prepared by Rangila get the DGHS approval in hours. Bids open secretly, orders issued manually same day to Rangila’s firm, the FIR mentioned.Though GeM rules require online work orders, tenders were falsely shown as “active” or “under process” on GeM/e-procurement portals even after being awarded. Fully paid tenders still appear as pending online, hiding awardees and rates from the public. Meanwhile, earlier medicine suppliers remain unpaid for two years, while Rangila-linked tenders since October get same-day or next-day payments.According to the FIR, the procurement of 448 portable X-ray machines was manipulated by initially floating the bid for only two machines to discourage competition, after which an order for 448 machines was awarded to F-Med Devices, the only technically qualified bidder.The complaint alleged Prorad Atlas portable X-ray machines, manufactured by Prognosis, were procured at Rs 33 lakh each despite the manufacturer allegedly supplying the same model to other government departments for around Rs 10 lakh, resulting in payments of Rs 148 crore for machines allegedly worth no more than Rs 45 crore. It further claims the GeM portal continues to display the tender as “Active” despite the order being completed and payments released.The complaint also alleged that bed sheets, pillow covers and other linen items were procured at highly inflated rates, with bed sheets purchased at Rs 450 each despite the same manufacturer allegedly supplying identical products to AIIMS and other government institutions for around Rs 150. It claims only three companies linked to the same owner qualified, while other bidders were rejected, hospitals were later directed to raise fictitious demands, and procurement, supply and payment were completed in an unusually short period, resulting in payments of Rs 75 crore for goods allegedly worth Rs 25 crore.In another allegation concerning C-Arm radiological equipment, the complaint claims the tender specifications were tailored to favour Vision Medicaid Equipment Private Limited and manufacturer Kiran Medical Systems for its Elite model, while F-Med Devices was qualified despite allegedly lacking the required credentials.It alleged seven machines were supplied at Rs 1.10 crore each although the manufacturer allegedly supplied the same model to other government departments for around Rs 25 lakh, resulting in procurement worth Rs 7.75 crore for equipment allegedly valued at Rs 1.75 crore.The complaint further claimed that the tender for anaesthesia workstations was designed to favour Draeger’s Atlan A350 model and that M Sahib and Sons Private Limited, allegedly linked to Rajiv Rangila, was the sole technically qualified bidder.The FIR also said that the contract had already been awarded and payments released even though the GeM portal continued to show the tender as being under financial evaluation, with purchase orders allegedly issued manually and single-bid procurement norms violated.Similarly, for ORS, 50 lakh sachets normally bought at Rs 2.5 each were procured via e-procurement at Rs 15 per sachet, raising the cost from Rs 1.25 crore to Rs 7.5 crore. The excess Rs 6.25 crore was allegedly siphoned by Rangila and distributed among him and DGHS/CPA officers.Similar overpricing occurred with surgical items including dressings, sutures, cannulas, and gloves. Items worth Rs 20–25 crore were procured for over Rs 100 crore, with alleged Rs 75–80 crore embezzled and shared between Rangila and officials.For medicines, CPA is mandated to conduct state-level open e-tenders to get 70–80 percent cheaper rates directly from manufacturers. Instead, CPA has avoided finalising state tenders and shifted to procuring medicines and surgical items worth around Rs 400 crore through “Local Chemist” tenders. These local tenders are meant only for emergency, day-to-day hospital needs and involve nearby chemists at much higher rates. This bypass of cheaper state-level procurement has caused significant loss to the government exchequer, the FIR mentioned.